PRESS STATEMENT The Collective Bargaining Compliance Act is not consistent

“Taxpayer money in the form of federal contracts must not be spent on wage dumping. This is a matter of fairness toward employees, but also toward society. The Collective Bargaining Compliance Act puts a stop to this in many areas, which is good and right. Unfortunately, however, the law passed today by the Bundestag does not consistently follow this path; instead, it contains loopholes left and right that run counter to its intent and purpose. 

Particularly worthy of criticism is the high threshold of 50,000 euros, which results in more than a quarter of contracts falling outside the scope of the law. For IG Metall, one additional point is especially unacceptable: Areas where massive investments are now being made—namely, in supply services and defense procurement—are exempt from the law’s scope. As a result, the collective bargaining criterion plays no role in a large portion of the upcoming government investments. These exemptions should never have been included, regardless of the doomsday scenarios painted by employers. Even with regard to procedural regulations, the law in its current form provides too few incentives for employers to commit to collective bargaining agreements.  

One thing is clear: This Collective Bargaining Compliance Act is far from sufficient to sustainably strengthen collective bargaining coverage in Germany! Further measures must follow. This is not only IG Metall’s conviction; it is also a requirement of the European Union. The EU Minimum Wage Directive mandates a national action plan for Germany, which must now be presented as soon as possible and, above all, implemented.”

Further information and press photos of Christiane Benner